Whether addressing leaders of the world or crowds of supporters, Mohandas Gandhi often encouraged people to "be the change you want to see in the world." We all want to live in a world where we take better care of one another. To achieve this lofty goal, we each must make a commitment towards doing just that: taking time out of our busy lives to give back to the neighborhoods that take such good care of us.
Lausanne is increasing service involvement in and around the Memphis area. We encourage Lausanne students, faculty and parents to participate in community service initiatives and projects. In the Lower School, this means teaching students about the community and how responsible members interact within that community. In the Middle School, classroom study continues to focus on the community but widens to include interaction with people in our state and our nation. Most of the Middle School class trips involve team-building and leadership skill-building activities, and the House system in the Middle School promotes cooperation among students and teachers from grades five through eight. By the time students reach the Upper School, they are ready to begin studying about the global community and the concept of social responsibility. They are also ready to begin taking action, so we require students to complete sixteen hours of school and community service per year. Though not an exhaustive list, our students are busy throughout the year contributing to initiatives such as:
mentoring to disadvantaged Memphis youth - Upper School
collecting books for schools in Niger - Upper & Middle Schools
fund-raising/raising awareness - Upper School
home-building for underprivileged families - 12th grade
home-building for underprivileged families - 8th grade
volunteering at clothing shop for the underprivileged, skills & career training, food bank, etc. - Upper School
student-led recycling program for the whole school - 8th grade
participation in local tolerance-related programs - Upper School
fund-raising/raising awareness - Upper School
participation in a 5K run/walk for breast cancer awareness - Upper & Middle Schools
fund-raising/raising awareness - Upper School
volunteering at a number of charitable sites throughout the greater Memphis area - Upper School
participation in a local walk for PKD - Upper School
Upper School
By the time students graduate from Lausanne, they embody the changes they wish to see in the world and they are ready to take on the responsibilities of global citizenship.
